Whether you are a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, we’re all busy and by the time our heads hit the pillow at night we know that some of the things on our to-do list probably will be forgotten in the long run. Little chores fall by the wayside and drift off into the abyss of “things that never get done.” Most of them are not tedious, hard, or even really necessary to do all of the time. However, every so often there are some chores that need to get tasked out and completed. Here are a few of them that you may have been forgetting:
Cleaning Fan Blades
Many people like to sleep with a fan on, even in the middle of winter. Whether you enjoy the constant flow of air or the white noise that running a fan at night can produce, there is no doubt that if you need one to sleep at night that your fan is in use a lot. Not to mention the regular use you get out of it in the warmer months. However, one thing you are probably forgetting to do is to clean the blades on it.
Dust and debris can pile up on fan blades because as they spin everything that is in the air gets trapped on the blades. This goes for ceiling fans too! For standing oscillating fans all you have to do is unsnap the front of the wire cover and wipe off the metal or plastic blades with a damp cloth or bleach wipes. For ceiling fans, you can set up a step ladder or pull in a chair if you are tall enough to reach, and use an extended duster or remove dust and dirt that is resting on top of the blades. You can also clean these blades with your favorite cleaner too! Since most ceiling fans are made out of wood, a wood cleaner such as Pledge works nicely for this task!
Clean Your Washing Machine
Your washing machine is in constant use. This is especially true if you have kids because kids tend to dirty clothes left and right. If you have small children you are always washing something it seems. Basically, your washer is your best friend at any stage of parenthood, right? Well, show the machine a little love and devote an hour or so per month to giving it the thorough cleaning that it deserves.
Most modern washing machines have a “self-clean” cycle that you can press. If you add a little bleach into the machine before running this cycle, your machine will basically do the rest for you. You can also buy washing machine cleaner tabs for about $15.00 that you can toss into the drum before running the self-clean cycle. Between uses, wipe the inside of the drum down with bleach wipes to remove any gunked up yuckiness. Also, every so often pull out the soap dispenser (where the detergent gets put in if you have a front loader), pull out all of the trays and rinse everything off. Let the entire thing air dry before returning it to the machine.
Flip and Spray Your Mattress
We all grew up with our grandmothers and mothers telling us to flip our mattresses every so often. The theory is that when you flip a mattress to the other side it gets used more evenly over the time you will own it. You are supposed to turn it as well so that your head is now on the other side of where your feet were. This is supposed to be done roughly every 6 months.
When you flip your mattress, give the entire thing a good spray with your favorite fabric refresher. Allow it to dry before you put sheets back on it. Do it to both sides. Also, be cautious of the fact that some modern-day mattresses are not meant to be flipped. They will even have a tag that states, “No flipping necessary,” or something of the like. Having a mattress that can be flipped is actually better because it can extend the life of a mattress longer.
A few other chores that you might be forgetting:
Clean off spiderwebs that have accumulated in corners and ceilings. Bleach litter boxes every so often. Wipe off your kids’ trampoline. Wash baseboards. Toss recyclable laundry bags in the washing machine. Organize the medicine cabinet. Clean the inside of the oven. Put your pet’s food and water dishes through the dishwasher.
